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Thread: Track Saw cutting SYP 2x12s

  1. #1

    Track Saw cutting SYP 2x12s

    I am finishing up making a bed based upon plans from the Woodworking for Engineers website. It has some curves in it and my wife likes beds with curved lines. The plans call for construction lumber and that is what I used. I bought 5 10 foot 2x12s at the local Home Depot. They were supposed to be southern yellow pine (SYP) and seemed to be. Somebody posted difficulties with a Festool track saw cutting up softwood so I thought I would post a short thread about my DeWalt cutting up the SYP.
    I both cross cut and ripped the SYP with the stock 48 tooth blade of the DeWalt. On some of the crosscuts, the saw bogged down because the wood was pinching it. I switched the kickback protection off so I could back out of the cuts and that helped a lot. Once I did that and adjusted to the fact I might have to back off and recut when the wood was doing this, those cuts went well. Rips went better but sometimes they would pinch the blade too. I did not have to back off but did notice some extra effort by the saw sometimes. I made something over 50 feet of ripping cuts in total.
    I added a ripping blade to my Christmas list but overall it went well. I can say with some certainty that the DeWalt track saw does pretty well cutting up construction lumber. Cuts were smooth and straight. Saw is powerfull enough, even without the "right" blade.
    I do not think I have cut hardwood thicker than 1 inch yet with it. Given the greater power requirements I suspect it will be less forgiving of use of the wrong blade. But I would expect the saw to be fine with a ripping blade up to it's full 2 inch capacity.

  2. #2
    The first rip job I gave my Dewalt was 5/4 hard maple. I used the stock blade and it bogged down somewhat. I bought three Freud blades and installed the rip blade. Much better results! With plywood, there's not a lot of difference in cut quality between the Freud plywood blade and the Dewalt stock blade.

    I had originally purchased the Festool 55 REQ but sent it back because my bank account was screaming at me. I picked up the Dewalt with two tracks (4'+ and 8'+) for about what the 55 REQ costs. I find to get the most precise cuts, I measure to a hard point on the track rather than relying on the rubber guide.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  3. #3
    One of the many advantages of the EZ Smart track saw system (Eurekazone.com) is that you can use just about any circular saw (mounted on their Universal Saw Base). In addition to an assortment of very good 7-1/4" blade "EZ Ready" saws (the Makita 5007MGA is my preferred), they also sell an EZ Ready Makita 5008MGA 8-1/4" blade saw, and even the Makita 5104 10-1/4" blade saw. They even sell an "EZ Ready" Dewalt masonry saw and have had a metal cutting saw listed on their web site (I'm sure it's still available with a phone call).

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